University management : developments in policy and practice

What is special about university management? Are universities similar in most respects to other large organizations, or is there something about them - a hallmark - that makes the management task in higher education distinctive? This book argues that effective university management needs to take account of the hallmark.

It needs to consider the multiple purposes that the modern university is required to serve - for example, academic excellence and widened participation; economic growth and social justice - and its distinctive role as a vital part of a local and regional community but also a part of a global knowledge-based network.

This means that university management should be conducted in a way that this book describes as 'integrative', reflecting the diverse academic compositions of most universities and the decision-making issues that arise from this. The book's main chapters cover: *The changing context: the key political and social events of the last half-century that will continue to shape university work. *Strategy and institutional change: a critical review of the limitations of university planning and strategy. *Doing different things: newer features of university management, including marketing, regional and international functions, and the growing private higher education sector. *Factors of production: finance, university space and place, and people. *Knowledge and work: knowledge production in the university and how it should be managed. *Social capital and the hallmark university. While the book draws on the author's experience of working in, and teaching and researching about, higher education in the UK, very similar problems and opportunities arise in universities in countries around the world.

This book will therefore be of interest to those seeking a new perspective on universities in their own country.

Many of the topics discussed in the book have emerged from the Institute of Education's MBA programme in higher education management.